At White Plains High School, there is no shortage of clubs for students to join. Such variety offers opportunities for people with different interests and brings together diverse communities. But no club brings as many interests and communities together as the Sci-Fi Club.
Ms. DeGraphenreed, the advisor, and several club members spoke about the club’s origins and goals, as well as experiences that have positively influenced their high school lives.
Opportunities are endless in Sci-Fi, with different themes and events planned for each month of the school year. In the spirit of Halloween, this October has a “horror and zombies” theme.
“We run the school’s decorating contest in October,” Ms. DeGraphenreed said. “We invite all the clubs to choose a portion of the school to decorate however they want, and then the committee members judge them and tally the scores.”
Each month, the Sci-Fi Club holds schoolwide movie events — last week’s was Superman — in which dozens of students watch films together, either outside or in the media center. Trunk or Treat is coming up on Halloween, and the Sci-Fi Club is already brainstorming how to decorate their cars for the spooky season.
To top it all off, fundraising efforts throughout the school year go toward one or two completely free field trips for club members. In past years, members have gone to escape rooms, game trucks and musicals.
The club meets every Tuesday and Thursday: Tuesdays are for meetings, and Thursdays are game days.
“Each quarter we attempt to hold a video game tournament in the media center, with prize pools for the winners,” Mrs. DeGraphenreed said. “Mario Kart and Smash Bros. are the biggest hits.”
“The club has given me a sense of community,” senior Anthony Fernandez said. “It was amazing to find a group of people interested in all the things I am.”
What started as a small group of friends wanting to watch movies during lunch has grown into one of White Plains High School’s most prominent and inclusive communities. In just a few years, the Sci-Fi Club has created a space for imagination, creativity and friendship to flourish.
